Lawyers for Reb Shalom Mordechai Rubashkin filed a motion today in U.S. District Court for an acquittal on the 86 counts he was convicted of last week, and is also asking for a new trial on those charges.

The motion contends there was insufficient evidence to sustain the conviction on the bank fraud, money laundering and other charges.

Reasons cited in the brief include:

◦Evidence presented in trial in regards to the non payment of livestock didn’t prove Reb Shalom Mordechai was responsible for the checks issued to cattle suppliers.

◦The government didn’t prove the alleged laundering involved “proceeds” as required for a conviction. Reb Shalom Mordechai didn’t retain any profits; it all went to expenses.

◦Merging the money laundering counts as part of the underlying frauds and false statements to the bank doesn’t meet the legal criteria for merging those counts.

◦The conviction on more than one count of bank fraud violates Reb Shalom Mordechai’s right against double jeopardy for multiple convictions for the same act.

Please continue to daven for Reb Shalom Mordechai ben Rivkah.

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